Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
NUSC vs RSSL: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, NUSC returned +12.2% to RSSL's +14.1%; 22% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets: $1.3bn on Jul 31, 2026 for Nuveen ESG Small-Cap ETF, and $1.4bn on Oct 12, 2026 for Global X Russell 2000 ETF.
Pair scorecard
RSSL costs 0.23 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 1.9 points.
| Measure | NUSC | RSSL |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +12.2% | +14.1% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 5.7%, high on Aug 14, 2026 | 7.6%, high on Aug 14, 2026 |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Nuveen ESG USA Small-Cap Index | Russell 2000 RIC Capped Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.31% | 0.08% |
| Net assets, NUSC as of Jul 31, 2026 and RSSL as of Oct 12, 2026 | $1.3bn | $1.4bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 22% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 10.2% | 3.2% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Jul 31, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Jun 14, 2024 to Oct 23, 2026 · 123 weekly returnsEach against its own benchmark: NUSC against MLRG, Dec 23, 2016 to Oct 23, 2026; RSSL against VOO, Jun 14, 2024 to Oct 23, 2026.
RSSL returned more: +42.2% to +30.3%. NUSC swung slightly less: 17.9% to 19.7%. NUSC fell slightly less at its worst: −23.6% to −24.7%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | NUSC | RSSL | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +30.3% | +42.2% | RSSL | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +11.8% | +16.0% | RSSL | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +27.5% | +37.5% | RSSL | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 17.9% | 19.7% | NUSC (slight) | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 12.5% | 13.2% | NUSC (slight) | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −23.6% | −24.7% | NUSC (slight) | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Upside capture | 93.6% | 102.3% | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. | |
| Downside capture | 103.0% | 102.8% | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. | |
| Beta | 1.07 | 1.06 | Not an edge | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 0.77 | 0.63 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.48 | 0.64 | RSSL | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.69 | 0.96 | RSSL | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Treynor | 0.081 | 0.119 | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. | |
| Calmar | 0.50 | 0.65 | RSSL | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
| Against the benchmark | ||||
| Benchmark | MLRG | VOO | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | −4.5% a year | −0.5% a year | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | −1.33 | −0.07 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. |
| Alpha range | −11.0% to +2.1% | −16.2% to +15.1% | Includes zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. |
| Information ratio | −0.34 | 0.02 | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 10.5% | 12.1% | Not an edge | How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 123 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, NUSC and RSSL hold 22% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jul 31, 2026.
half
22% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
NUSC and RSSL on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
NUSC and RSSL are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?
- What each follows. NUSC follows Nuveen ESG USA Small-Cap Index and RSSL follows Russell 2000 RIC Capped Index.
- Holdings in common. 22% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Jul 31, 2026).
- Number of holdings. NUSC holds 405 positions and RSSL holds 1960.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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NUSC
NUSC tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +12.2% with distributions reinvested, against +13.6% for its benchmark, the MSCI USA Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.31% a year. By its holdings filed for Jul 31, 2026, 6% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 405 positions, with the top ten at 10.2%. It sat 5.7% below its high of Aug 14, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
RSSL
RSSL tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +14.1% with distributions reinvested, against +13.7% for its benchmark, the S&P 500 Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.08% a year. By its holdings filed for Jul 31, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 1,960 positions, with the top ten at 3.2%. It sat 7.6% below its high of Aug 14, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, NUSC or RSSL?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, NUSC returned +12.2% and RSSL +14.1%.
- Which is cheaper, NUSC or RSSL?
- RSSL is cheaper, by 0.23 percentage points a year. That is about $23 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.
How this is computed
Overlap adds up the smaller of the two weights for each security both funds hold.
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ETFIQ, NUSC against RSSL, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/nusc-vs-rssl
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